1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to manually operated apparatus for positioning and holding a silk screen mounted in a silk screen frame against a large, smooth, flat surface. In particular, the present invention relates to such manually operated apparatus employing suction vacuum cups for attaching the apparatus to a large, smooth, flat surface, and with the apparatus being adapted to clamp a silk screen frame to the apparatus and simultaneously hold the silk screen frame against the large, smooth, flat surface.
2. State of the Art
It is often desirable to silk screen a design on a large, flat, smooth surface. Commonly, the surface will be glass, but quite often it is desired to silk screen a design to other flat, smooth surfaces such as polished mineral surfaces, synthetic panels simulating polished mineral surfaces, polished wood surfaces, or a wall surface that has been prepared so as to have a smooth, flat surface. Heretofore, it has been common practice to utilize three workmen in accomplishing the silk screening of the desired design on the large, flat surface.
When the surface on which the design is to be silk screened is an upstanding or vertically disposed surface, it is common to employ two workmen to carefully hold the silk screen frame and the silk screen carried by the silk screen frame against the large, flat surface, while a third workman applies the coloring material through the silk screen and onto the large, flat surface. It takes the third workman a significant amount of time to apply the coloring material to the silk screen and work the coloring material through the silk screen to the large, flat surface.
It is a difficult task for the first two workmen to hold the silk screen frame in a steady, exact position while the third workmen applies the coloring material. Often times, the two workmen holding the silk screen frame will tire, and the silk screen frame will be allowed to move ever so slightly. Even a very small movement of the silk screen frame will result in the design applied to the large, flat surface being of inferior quality or of no value at all. Generally, the inferior quality design must be removed and the entire process repeated.
It would be highly desirable to have a manually operated device that employs manually operated vacuum suction cups for being secured to the large, flat surface and which when so secured to the large, flat surface can be used by a single workman to accurately position and securely hold the silk screen frame to the large, flat surface. Such a manually operated device would eliminate the chance of the silk screen frame from slipping or moving during the application of coloring material. Further, the registration of the numerous succession of silk screen frames used in making the design could be controlled to be much more accurate than presently obtainable when manually holding the silk screen frames on the large, flat surface.
Such a manually operated device would also be advantageous to use on large, horizontal printing tables that have substantially horizontal, flat surfaces. Heretofore, registration devices have been available for holding silk screen frames on the upper surface of such a table, but the registration devices have been screwed or secured with other type mechanical attachments to the surface of the table. After the registration devices have been moved numerous times, the surface of the table becomes unusable and must be replaced. If the surface of the table was formed with a large, flat, smooth surface, a manually operated registration device employing vacuum cups could be repeatedly moved an innumerable number of times without causing any substantial damage to the surface of the table. In addition, the movement of a registration device employing manually operated, vacuum suction cups can be accomplished much more rapidly and with far less labor expense that when moving the mechanically attached devices of the prior art.
3. Objectives
The principal objective of the invention is to provide a novel, registration device for use in holding silk screen frames against large, flat, smooth surfaces. A particular objective of the present invention is to provide such a manually operated device employing manually operated, vacuum suction cups which is adapted to be quickly and easily mounted on a large, flat, smooth surface and is capable of accurately positioning and securely holding a silk screen frame against the large, flat, smooth surface while coloring matter is applied to the surface through the silk screen carried by the silk screen frame.